NYC commuters forced to adjust in wake of storm

The plan for Monday for thousands of Hudson Valley residents who work in the metropolitan region is to telecommute — as long as they have power and internet service at home.

“I’m not willing to drive or risk getting stuck in the city,” said Jeff Hookey of Cornwall, who normally takes the ferry from Newburgh to the Metro-North station in Beacon.

Metro-North and other Metropolitan Transportation Authority transit services shut down operations Sunday night for the duration of Hurricane Sandy, just as they did for Hurricane Irene last year. NJ Transit, the Port Authority’s PATH system and Short Line, the commuter bus company, followed suit early Monday.

Service won’t resume until the storm passes; and then, how quickly will depend on how much damage was done.

Speed limits, vehicle restrictions and-or closing of bridges throughout the region will be decided on a case-by-case basis as the storm develops. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who mobilized the New York Army and Air National Guard on Sunday to aid in storm response, warned that people should “limit their travel as much as possible” throughout the storm.

In sustained winds of 50 mph, the state will bar motorcycles, vans, tractor trailers, mini buses, motor homes and certain other vehicles from bridges. Sustained winds over 60 mph may lead to bridge closures; but closure could be triggered at lower wind speeds in heavy rain.

Only Short Line, the commuter bus company, was still contemplating running some part of its schedule Monday as of 4 p.m. Sunday.

With many employees unable to get to work — the MTA’s buses, subways and railroads alone carry eight million people a day, some businesses are closing or giving their staff the option of working from home. Others have no choice, given mandatory evacuations in parts of Manhattan regarded as most likely to flood. Still others, such as the New York Stock Exchange, were bringing employees in Sunday and putting them up at hotels.

“The company I work for never closes but it is closing all its tri-state offices (Monday),” said Ellyn Sullivan of Goshen, who takes the train to the city from Campbell Hall. “My spouse is still going to drive to Pearl River to work at least half the day. The company didn’t say stay home.”

Howard Hacker, who uses the Metro-North station in Middletown, said everyone at his company has been authorized to work from home, “except one guy who lives in Manhattan. He was told to hold on to the telephone poles and come on in.”

Denis Belokostolsky, a facilities manager for the New York City schools, is expected at his office in Queens Monday despite the schools being closed. He planned to leave his Orange County home at 3:30 a.m. Monday — driving, as usual — work a full day and then work a second shift in the city’s emergency management center until sometime Tuesday.

“I’m most worried how I’ll get home if they close the bridges (because of high winds),” said Belokostolsky.

The websites for transportation agencies remain the best source of real time information: www.mta.info, www.njtransit.com, www.panynj.gov, www.thruway.ny.gov, www.shortlinebus.com and for general highway conditions, www.511ny.org.